As a group, we had an order of the garlic knots which were fantastic.  Soft, fresh and hot!  They were some of the best garlic knots I have ever had.

For my meal, I ordered a couple of slices with pepperoni and mushrooms.  It took longer than it should have to get them - quite a while actually.  Once they came out - they were outstanding.  It truly was some of the best pizza I have had in town.    It was similar to many of the other top NY Pizza places in town, but it wasn’t nearly as greasy as some of the others (not that I mind grease.)  

Their menu also boast a wide assortment of other items, from chicken wings and stromboli or calzones to pasta and sandwiches.  I can not wait to try some of the other menu items.  Also, their prices are fairly reasonable with a fairly large slice of NY Pizza starting at $1.75.  A 16-inch pie will run  you about $12-$15 depending upon toppings.

Baoding is upscale and has a great modern, peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. The wait staff is very friendly and does a great job of actually making a little bit of conversation. It seems to me that in many chinese restaurants, the wait staff just barely tries to break through the language barrier and just gets the order the best they can. Of course, this comment only applies to those chinese restaurants with chinese employees - some have American wait staff. I imagine this helps the employees at Baoding become better at communicating with English speaking people in general - thus, increasing the accuracy of the orders.

To start with, I had the hot and sour soup. It was wonderful, although I am sure it was the best I have had. It was more spicey than most, and I wasn’t sure 100% why the word sour was even in the name.

I can’t remember what my main course was called, and it is not on their online menu. The closest thing I can remember was Pineapple Shrimp. While I may not recall the exact name, it was outstanding. If you love pineapple, and you love shrimp, you HAVE to get this. It was served on a split pineapple which was stuffed full of jumbo shrimp, pineapple, snow peas, pepper and onions. This dish is definately going on my favorite dishes list.

My wife had Beef & Broccolli. She always gets Beef & Broccolli at Chinese restaurants. It is the only Chinese food she will eat. In other words, she is quite the expert on Beef & Broccolli. She liked the dish, but did not think it was drastically better than some of the cheaper places she has had it at.

Another note, is that it isn’t that kid-friendly. They have no kid’s menu or chicken nuggest. You can get the sweet & sour chicken (the closest thing to a chicken nugget) as a substitute. My son seems to enjoy that, but I don’t know if he bought the whole idea of the “red ranch” that we tried to sell him as the dipping sauce.

All in all, I will definately be going back to Baoding in the future. The atmosphere is great, the service is great, and the food is great.

I arrived around 1:30pm on a Tuesday (June 17th) and the restaurant was very slow - only a couple of other people dining. I ordered a BBQ plate and had to wait a little longer than I should have to get it. When it came it look delicious. Unfortunately, that is there the deliciousness ended. The BBQ tasted extremely watery. Almost as if they had added water to it to keep it moist. It was not very appetizing at all. It was actually some of the worst BBQ I have ever had.

I recalled hearing a BBQ guy on the food network state one time that “sauce hides things.” Well, they need to use more sauce. After forcing about a 1/4 of the BBQ down without sauce, I tried their varying sauces which were all sufficient. None of them were “knock your socks off and give me a bottle to take home good,” but they did an ok job of covering up the watered down pork.

On a positive note, the slaw was excellent and the hush puppies were awesome. The baked beans were just average. My three year old stated that his grilled cheese was “good.”

To sum it up, I probably will not be going back just for the amazing hush puppies and slaw. I will continue my search for quality Charlotte BBQ. At least there are a few good places just outside of Charlotte with good BBQ (Courtney’s in Clover and Alfred & Charlie’s in Gastonia). I think I need to plan a trip to Lexington BBQ (in Lexington) so I can once again see what I am missing.

There were more televisions lining the walls than I could count without physically walking around the restaurant and counting them. I don’t think there is a bad seat in the place to watch a game. Please correct me if I am wrong, as I have not actually gone there to watch a game.

I tried something that I had never had before - a Folly Beach Reuben. This was basically a Reuben with the corned beef/pastrami substituted with whitefish. It was really good; although, not as good as if I had gotten the corned beef/pastrami version. Of course, I am sure the whitefish was much more healthy than corned beef. Would I get it again? Probably - if I were in a more healthy mood. If not, I would elect for the corned beef.

Next time, I will probably get something entirely different though. Their menu is fairly large - containing your typical bar fare like chicken wings, burgers and other sandwiches to pizza, calzones, chicken and steaks. Years ago, the Carmel Road location had a oyster night with 35 cent oysters. I am not sure if this is still going on, but I am sure the price is probably higher now any way.

All in all, I enjoyed my visit to The Hickory Tavern. The service was exceptional and the food was good. Feel free to comment about your own experiences with The Hickory Tavern.

The menu is fairly short compared to many restaurants who try to kill you with choices.  Mert’s has a handful of entrees and prepares them just right.    The menu has also not changed much over the years - nor should it have changed.  Any of the entrees from the “Daily Fixin’s” is a winner - blackened pork chops, southern fried chicken, fried catfish or whiting, or barbecue beef ribs.  Today, I had the famous salmon cakes.  These are simply some of the best you will ever get.  Instead of canned salmon like many places uses for their salmon cakes, Mert’s poaches fresh salmon, blends it with Cajun Trinity, adds spices, and serves them to you with their own remoulade sauce.  The end result is quite amazing. 

With any of the main entrees, Mert’s allows you to select from two side items.  Don’t count on getting any canned veggies here.  Mert’s has fresh veggies delivered to them daily and prepares them just right.  Today I had the green beans along with okra and tomatoes.  The green beens were excellent.  They were juicy and tender and had been cooked with bacon - just like grandma used to do.  You could definately tell the difference between these and the kind you get from a can.  The okra and tomatoes included a dash of spice.  They were great too; although, I could have used a bit more okra and a little less tomatoes - but perhaps that is just me. 

My wife had the fried chicken which came out as perfect as always.  Mert’s blends their own seasoning and fries the chicken to perfection.   Obviously, I am not the only person who is a fan of the chicken at Mert’s.  According to their website, they served 73,920 pieces of fried chicken in 2006.  For her side, she had the “award winning” macaroni & cheese.    It too is some of the best I have had. 

Also, many of my readers know that one of my peeves for restaurants in Charlotte (anywhere in the South actually) is bad sweet tea.  Therefore, I must mention that  Mert’s tea is blended perfectly.  Not too sweet (if there is such a thing) but sweet enough. 

Another great thing about Mert’s is that the employees are all so friendly.  They all seem like they love working there and love pleasing the customers. 

Whether you are visiting uptown for business or pleasure, Mert’s is the one place you need to stop if you truly want a taste of Charlotte.

I have been a frequent visitor to McCormick & Schmicks for well over a year now - having tried virtually every item on the menu.  At one time, I had tried everything on the menu but they change the menu frequently.  The prices are more than what I typically spend on dinner but the lunch menu is very similar and much cheaper - although not cheap.  Lunch will run about $15-$17 per person.  A full dinner with appetizers, entrees and dessert will run around $50 per person, before any alcohol.

My wife and I went there the other night in what was planned to be a pre-Indiana Jones meal.  Unfortunately, we engorged ourselves so much and took so long doing it, we did not feel like a movie afterward. 

The ambiance is very upscale and the staff very professional.  The staff is always very knowledgable and willing to ablige whatever desire that you have. 

On this visit, I had a decided to splurge a little.  I had a 2 lb Whole Main Lobster stuffed with lump crab meat.  It was outstanding.  It was pre-split down the middle for me so that the meat was extremely easy for me to get to.  As I said before, it was simply amazing. 

My wife had a Steak and Shrimp Combination, but as you may recall from prior post, she does not eat seafood, so the shrimp were for me.  The combination also came with McCormick & Schmick’s Signature Creme Brulee - again for me, my favorite dessert.

The shrimp were large and also stuffed with lump crab meat.  This was the first time I had had these, and as usual, I was very pleased - delicious.

One thing I usually do is to order the Potato Croquet as my side item.  I did so this time, and it was cooked to perfection.  As you take a bite of the croquet, you have to wonder how the chefs at McCormick’s are able to prepare food this amazing while competitors can not.   

When it was time for dessert, I was still excited to see the Creme Brulee placed on the table along with the Cheesecake that my wife ordered.   Again, the Creme Brulee was outstanding.  I will stop short of saying that this is the best Creme Brulee I have had, because it is not.  But, it is near the top of the list.   Of course, I do not recall ever getting a bad Creme Brulee. 

My wife throughly enjoyed her Filet Mignon as well.  I routinely go with friends that do not eat seafood and they all rave about the steaks.  For those who have ever heard the phrase, “never eat steak at a seafood place”, can throw that advice out the window at McCormick & Schmicks.    I will agree with most seafood places, but not McCormicks.    Of course, if you eat seafood - get seafood. 

Since I have literally visited this restaurant 100’s of times, I will list out some of my favorite dishes too:

Oysters On the Half Shell - always extremely fresh, and always extremely delicious.  This is one of the few restaurants that I will actually eat raw oysters at.  I do not trust most restuarants to handle the oysters properly - especially some of the “dives” around town that proclaim to be raw bars.   Don’t get me wrong, I will drink a few beers and eat a bucket of steamed oysters at those places, but I am not eating a raw one.

Ahi Tuna - Sesame Seared
Halibut, with Roasted Garlic Butter
Swordfish, with Boiled Red Potatoes and Lemon Butter
Atlantic Salmon, Roasted on a Cedar Plank with Northwest Berry Sauce (THE BEST SALMON I HAVE EVER HAD, BAR NONE)
Yellowtail Flounder, Permesan Crusted with Lemon Caper Butter

Desserts:  Pretty much all of them are great

Upside Down Granny Smith Apple Pie
Cheesecake
Cholocate Bomb
Creme Brulee

A new Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant just opened in Ayrsley (I-485 and S. Tryon Street), so I decided to check it out.  I can only assume that it is related to the other two Salsa’s in Charlotte: one in Carmel Commons near Pineville and the other in Galleria Village in the Matthews area.  As of today, the new location is not listed on their website but the logo looks the same as the others.

The decor and ambiance seemed much more upscale to me than the other two locations - not they they are not nice.  All of the locations have a much nicer decor and appeal than most other Charlotte Mexican Restaurants.  The good news is that while the decor and ambiance appear to be increasing to a more upscale appeal, the prices are still very reasonable.  Most of the meals on the menu were under $10.

I think the service that I had on this particular day was some of the best I have had.  The waitress was very attentive and had no problem keeping us supplied with ample amounts of tea. 

I ordered a combo that allowed me to select two of the following:  enchilada, chili cheese burrito, taco, or chili relleno.  As usual, I was able to select beef or chicken for the entrees.  It also came with Mexican rice or refried beans, a baby green mix and sour cream.  The cost was $6.79.  I chose the enchilada and the chili relleno.

First, the good news. The chips and salsa were well on par with expectations.  The Mexican rice was exceptional.  It was some of the best that I have ever had.  It had a very small tinge of smoked flavor that added a perfect touch to the rice.

Now the bad news.  The chicken in the enchilada was a bit dry.  This seems to be rare with Mexican because of the sauces/spices, but in this case it was.  The chili relleno was good except that the cheese was not all of the way melted.  It could have stood another minute or so in the “cooker.”

All in all, it was only an average experience on this visit.  The ambiance and the services were very good, some of the food was great, some of it not so great.  Perhaps they are just ironing out some rough edges in the kitchen since the location is new.  I have always gotten great food at the other two locations.  I am sure I will give them another shot – primarily due to the location and my experiences with the other two locations.

You will notice the biggest problem that Twin Tops immediately upon pulling into the parking lot - limited parking and VERY tight parking spaces. If you are driving a Suburban-sized vehicle, you may want to get their early to guarantee two spots next to one another.   If you are driving a SMART Car, you should be fine.   Of course, parking is a minor detail. 

The last two times we have been in, it has seemed like a long time before we were approached by a waitress - almost to the point of wondering whether or not our table even had a waitress assigned to it.  As usual, the restaurant was packed with people, so perhaps she just got busy.  Eventually, the waitress did come and took our orders.  A few minutes later, she returned with the iced tea - which was a bit rough.  Traditionally, fish camps usually have good sweet tea so this one was puzzling to me.  My wife recalled the tea being bad last time as well.    I would recommend going with a soda or something other than tea.  We will not be ordering tea there again.

At the same time that the tea was bought to our table, a basket of hush puppies were also delivered.  My wife liked them a lot.  I thought they were good, but I have definately had better on many occassions.  I would rate them about a 7 out of 10.

They had several all-you-can eat specials up on the board - depending upon the night of the week, as follows:

Tuesday, Perch $7.95
Wednesday, Calabash Shrimp $8.95
Thursday, Whiting $8.95

As is the case with most of the fish camps nowadays, the large platters are always all you can eat.  This is assuming that you can finish the large platter to begin with.  On this night, I wanted to try a little of everything [because I knew I would be writting about it later], so I ordered the all-you-can-eat three item combo platter for $11.95 which featured Calabash Shrimp, Deviled Crab and Flounder.   I would only rate the flounder about a 5 out of 10.   It was pretty average.  Next time, I will probably order something different in place of the flounder.    The Calabash Shrimp were a different story though.  They were lightly breaded and fried to near perfection - earning a score of 9 out of 10.  I will definately be eating more of these in the future.  The third item was the Deviled Crab which was also excellent.  It was some of the best Deviled Crab I have eaten in a long while - earning an 8 out of 10.  I ended up getting reorders of both the shrimp and the deviled crab, but had to fight my way through the reorders - I was so stuffed.

My wife who is not a seafood eater, ordered the 1/2 order chicken tender basket.  I am not sure if they messed up the order and gave her a whole order or if the 1/2 order is usually this big.  It was monsterous.  I have never seen anything like it and it was supposedly only a 1/2 order - see photo.    As far as the quality goes, she would rate them a 7 out of 10.

Also of note, since I mentioned the difficulty of getting a waitress, I must say that once she finally got to our table she was very attentive and very good.  Of particular note, my drink did not get empty which, as I have said before, is rare.

As with many fish camps, you pay up “at the front” when you are leaving.  The front area reminds me of an old time candy store with classic candies lining the wall - making it impossible to resist an extra purchase as you are paying your bill.  Next to the main door sits a Ms. Pac Man machine - how great is this! 

Also of note, Twin Tops does not take credit cards - quite a dissappointment considering it is 2008.  Even McDonald’s and Taco Bell take credit cards.  Twin Tops does take debit cards.  I am not sure the logic behind this.  Perhaps they are trying to save on credit card processing fees which are much more than debit card processing fees.  Who knows?  Just remember to take cash (or a debit card). 

They are also not open on Sundays or Mondays, so plan your visit accordingly.

I am not sure what is different about the Carolina Wing & Rib House, but they have one of the better wing buffets that I have ever feasted upon.  The wings are always warm and of superior size.  They typically have 3-4 flavors on the buffet - usually the Carolina Rub, a Honey or Honey BBQ, and either a hot or mild.  The flavors change slightly from visit to visit, but these are the most common ones.   On a scale of 1-10, I would rate the wings from the buffet about a 6 (or of 10).  They may be higher if you order them, but the buffet is always a better bargain when available, so that is all I have tried.  They are not the best in Charlotte by any means, but they are a great option for a quick lunch since they are already prepared.

From a service standpoint, I would rate my typical experience at lunch time as very good.    Of course, the main function that the waiter or waitress has is to make sure the drink glasses are full (since it is a buffet) and that the bill comes out in a timely fashion.    It is rare that my glass gets empty there which is saying something considering the vast amounts of Diet Pepsi or Tea that I can consume during a meal. 

I guess this is where I am supposed to tell you about the ribs. Well, I can’t because I have never had their ribs.  I will have to put it on my list so that I can tell you about it.

Another great item on the menu is their All-You-Can-Eat Snow Crab Legs on Thursday nights.  I can not remember the price, but it isn’t cheap.  Around $25 I think, but it is crab legs.  I don’t think that they have ever come out on top when I have done the crab legs special.  The last time I went, two friends and myself had 56 reorders of crab legs.  I will say that at times, the service can be a bit slow on crab legs night.  I think it is more of an issue with the kitchen getting backed up than the wait staff.  They are always friendly and apologetic when your plate gets empty.

The rest of their menu consist of steaks, other seafood, and a large variety of sandwiches.  They have a link to a coupon on their website, but it just pulls up a blank Adobe file. You may want to check to see if they get it fixed.  Also, of note, the restaurant appears very clean and well-maintained.  This is always a plus in my book.

Ever since the Bojangles opened in Lake Wylie, I have had a much different experience.  The service has always been extremely fast and accurate and the employees overly friendly.  They actually act as if they care.  I remember one morning, i timed them at the drive through.  I pulled in with 2 cars in front of me and was back on the road with my pork chop biscuit in a mere 39 seconds.  It was a fast, well-oiled machine.  I am not sure what has happened in the last two months, but they are not quite as fast or as well-oiled as they were at that time; however, they are still way above any other fast-food joint around.   Oh yeah, I forgot….the food is outstanding.

When I visited Bojangles a couple of nights ago for dinner, I did the unroutine task of dining in instead of the drive through.  The Lake Wylie Bojangles was clean and the staff very friendly; although, not as friendly as in the past.  I ordered a special deal (not on the menu) where you get four chicken legs and a biscuit - I think it was $3.79.  As usual, the legs came out hot and crispy - and absolutely delicious.

The biggest complaint I hear about Bojangles chicken is that is it too spicy. Well, I like spice, so it doesn’t bother me.  If you do not like Cajun food or spicy food in general,  you may not like it.  I know my wife does not care for it because of the spices.  She goes love the biscuits and Botato Rounds though.   The unique Cajun spices in the chicken, are definately much spicier than KFC.    I do find that I prefer the crispness of the Bojangles chicken over KFC.  To me, the KFC chicken usually seems a bit “soggy” compared to Bojangles.

Also, need to mention that the Pork Chop biscuit mentioned above was only available for a limited time. They bring it back periodically, so look for it.  It is [usually] absolutely amazing.  I have had it at other locations of Bojangles and have occassionally been disappointed.  It is also usually better hot.  Don’t let it sit around for 30 minutes while you drive to work - eat it immediately.  If they prepare it properly, you will be amazed too.

Anyway, I want to give Kudos again to the staff at the Lake Wylie Bojangles location - they are going a great job.   Unfortunately, as is the case with all fast food chains, they are not all the same just because the name on the building is.